


Five or Six Kisses

by Beth Harker (Beth_Harker)



Category: Huge (TV 2010)
Genre: Bisexual Character, Fluff, Gender-Fluid Character, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:47:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27808576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beth_Harker/pseuds/Beth%20Harker
Summary: “I was okay with my first kiss not being all fireworks and butterflies,” Alistair says.  It’s the first night of the last week of camp.  He and Becca have wandered off to read runes, ostensibly to divine what their futures will hold when camp is over and real life starts back up again.
Relationships: Becca Huffstater/Alistair “Athena” Delgado
Comments: 5
Kudos: 4





	Five or Six Kisses

“I was okay with my first kiss not being all fireworks and butterflies,” Alistair says. It’s the first night of the last week of camp. He and Becca have wandered off to read runes, ostensibly to divine what their futures will hold when camp is over and real life starts back up again. Becca loves the concept of communicating with spirits, the idea of there being some secret world beyond the everyday drama of teen existence; She’s not _entirely_ sold on the idea that she’s personally got enough magic within her to access that hidden realm, especially with inexpertly made chunks of plastic she bought off Amazon. 

Maybe Alistair does. There’s something soft and moon-bathed about his face, as he gazes into the distance. If Becca were to write a book, and the protagonist were to fall in love, her romantic interest would be somebody just like Alistair. She’d describe the love interest as ethereal, and everybody would laugh at her, because that’s not a word that real writers use to describe fat kids. That’s why Becca only ever writes fan fiction. She can call Commander Chakotay ethereal all she wants, and trust that everyone will find it pretty much legit. 

“I think a lot of firsts tend to be over-rated,” says Becca, who hasn’t experienced many. 

“Exactly!” Alistair sounds excited. He deflates quickly. “I just wish it hadn’t been a joke.” He gives a short laugh, like he’s dismissing the experience, but his face says otherwise. “It would have been... nice, I think, to be kissed by somebody who really liked me, and get to let them down gently.” 

“It wasn’t right of Piznarski to do that to you.” Becca reaches out to take Alistair’s hand, but speaking of butterflies, there are so many of them in her stomach that she can’t maintain the gesture. 

“I’ve forgiven him. He’s a nice guy. I’d just like to be kissed once by somebody who really likes me. _I_ like me, but so many people act like nobody else ever could. I guess I’d just like proof that it isn’t true.” 

The butterflies are worse now. Becca doesn’t say anything. She fiddles with her runes. Crickets chirp. The night air is cooler than it was a month ago. In a rush, Becca turns and does something very impulsive:

She kisses Alistair. It’s quick and clumsy, nothing like Chloe and Trent or Amber and Ian. She’s not sure she can even call it a kiss. It’s more like she smashed her mouth in the general vicinity of Alistair’s, then immediately retreated. Nonetheless, as soon as it’s over she squares her shoulders and summons all her bravery. 

“There,” she says. There’s a lump in her throat. “You’ve been kissed by somebody who likes you. Now you can let me down gently.” 

Silence. Alistair stares at Becca, slack-mouthed. At least he’s not cowering the way he did when they were preparing for their LARP and Ian had blasted him with water. He’s just stunned. 

“Sorry,” Becca says. “I know you don’t like girls, so maybe you didn’t want me to do that. I don’t expect you to date me or anything like that. It’s just that I do really like you. I like coming out here with you, and I like it when you wear those ridiculous cat ears, and I like that you always walk me back to my bunk whenever we do anything together, and...” 

And oh. Oh _drat_. Now Becca’s eyes are stinging. She wipes at them quickly, and takes a deep breath. She feels so stupid for having said all that, but this storm has been brewing for a while, since parents’ weekend at least. 

Alistair puts a hand on her shoulder.

Another deep breath. 

“I just wanted you to know,” Becca finishes, in a voice that she _won’t_ let shake. “And I wanted you to at least be able to say that your second kiss came from somebody who cared.”

“Becca.” At first, Alistair doesn’t say anything other than that. Then, he leans in for his third kiss and Becca’s second. It’s not aggressive at all. It’s gentle and warm and kinda sorta magical, like Alistair is. Becca pulls back, blinking. She touches her lips “Are you straight?” Alistair asks. 

“Huh?” 

“Romantically, I mean. Are you only interested in boys, or...?”

“Nobody’s ever asked me that.” 

“Well, I’m asking.”

Becca finds herself laughing. “No,” she says. “I’m incredibly bi.”

Alistair is grinning ear to ear. 

“It’s not that I’ve been in the closet. If anybody had ever asked I would’ve told them. It’s just that nobody ever _did_ ask, and it always felt like trying to steal somebody else’s spotlight to just say it for no good reason. I always thought if I happened to date a girl someday, I’d have an excuse to tell somebody, but...” Becca shrugs, still smiling. What a night this is shaping up to be! She’s smiled, she’s cried, she’s _kissed_ , she’s confessed. The last hour or so has been a cacophony of happenings, and the runes hadn’t prepared her for it at all, not one iota. 

“How would you feel,” Alistair asks, “if I told you I’m not really a boy? At least not all the time.”

“Like non-binary?” Becca asks. 

“Like gender fluid. Sometimes I’m a boy. Sometimes I’m a girl. Sometimes I’m something in between.” 

“I’d think that was cool,” Becca says. She feels like she ought to say something more profound, but cool just about sums it up. “Do you like people to call you Athena when you’re a girl?” 

“Yep. Or whenever. Athena’s a good name. I don’t feel like names need to be strictly divided into genders any more than people do. I like Alistair, too. You can call me both.” 

“Alright,” Becca agrees. 

Alistair (Athena) leans in and kisses her again. This is not what letting somebody down gently looks like. Even if Alistair isn’t interested, repeatedly kissing Becca is just getting her hopes up. 

“I’m not big on labels,” Alistair says. “Gender isn’t the most important thing for me when it comes to being attracted to someone.” 

“And... are you attracted to anyone?” Becca dares to ask. 

“You. I’m attracted to you.” 

Becca’s fourth kiss (Alistair’s fifth) is the best of all.

**Author's Note:**

> I’d love comments!


End file.
